Final answer:
Mead's theory on the development of self includes the preparatory and play stages, where imitation and role-playing are essential for the child to understand others' perspectives and form a sense of self.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mead's theory of how the self develops over time includes the preparatory and the play stages. George Herbert Mead, a philosopher and sociologist, proposed that self-development occurs through social interactions.
During the preparatory stage, children engage in imitation without the capacity to understand perspectives of others, whereas during the play stage, they begin to adopt and act out roles of significant others, like parents, which helps them to start understanding others' perspectives and form their own sense of self.
Later, this process leads to an understanding of the generalized other, allowing children to comprehend the behavioral expectations of society and thus develop a 'self'. Through this process, they learn to see themselves from the perspective of others, crucial for self-awareness and identity development.